Method and apparutus for performance enhancing body cooling with thermoelectric

ABSTRACT

Heat accumulated inside the human body can affect performance and may also lead to heat stroke, hyperthermia and even death. A method and system for performance enhancing body cooling with the use of thermoelectric cooling plate for performance enhancement and prevention of heat stress/heat stroke/hyperthermia is described. The system targets the glabrous skins in the palm for optimal heat extraction and the portable device allows continuous cooling for longer duration. A heavy-duty version of the device using multiple thermoelectric cooling plates for cooling of body under extreme heat conditions such as inside a tank or armored personnel vehicle (APV) for military applications is also described.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

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FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The presently claimed invention relates to the cooling of human body to enhance performance and to prevent heat stroke and hyperthermia under hot environment. This invention can be used for professional/consumer sports device, industrial cooling device, military combat gear and also in extreme environment such as inside an armored personnel vehicle (APV) in military applications.

BACKGROUND

Many sports, military, and industrial activities require the subject to perform demanding physical activities in thermally stressful conditions, sometimes even wearing heavily insulated clothing (e.g. body armor, protective padding, hazmat suits, and firefighting gear etc). The accumulation of internal heat can be performance limiting and even life threatening (e.g. heat stroke, hyperthermia). Traditional heat extraction methods with cool misting fans, cool beverages and apply ice on the body often make one “feel” cooler temporarily, but these methods are minimally effective at cooling the body's core organs.

Glabrous (hairless) skin surfaces (e.g. palms of the hands, soles of the feet, face, and ears) contain specialized vascular structures that facilitate heat loss. These structures are called arterio-venous anastamoses (AVA's). AVAs in the palm allows large flow rates of blood through the hands as part of the body's thermal control system. When open, these structures increase the blood flow through the hands to 6-7 1/min, more than double the resting rate.

This invention is a performance-enhancing cooling device designed to enhance the cooling ability of the glabrous skin surfaces by extracting heat from the AVAs rich areas like the palms/fingers of the hands to help cool the internal organs and lower core temperature.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,415 discloses a body cooling apparatus in the form of a cooling vest with water or coolant circulating through tubes going through the vest for cooling the upper torso. However, this system requires compressor and condenser, rendering the device non-portable. The tubes could also be damaged by body movement. The heat extraction process is also targeting the torso skin surfaces which are not glabrous skin surfaces hence the cooling efficiency will be limited. U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,701 describes a similar cooling suit with the use of heat pipe and phase-change materials. The device also suffers from pipe reliability and cooling efficiency problems.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,729 describes a cuff-like device to provide personal cooling for the wearer, consisting of a flexible sealed envelope filled with a cold-retaining gel substance enclosed within an inner condensation-controlling and insulating fabric. The cuff-like device is fastened around the wrist by means of an adjustable insulated band. U.S. design Pat. D623,307S also describes a similar device attaching to the palm with cool-gel-pack inserts. These devices suffer from the need to replace the cool gel pack within 60 minutes or less depending on the ambient temperature. Direct contact of freezing cold surface to the skin might induce constriction in blood vessels which dampens the effect of heat extraction.

SUMMARY

It is an objective of this presently claimed invention to provide a method and system for cooling of human body to enhance performance and prevent heat stroke by targeting the glabrous skin surface of the palms with the use of thermoelectric cooling plate. The use of thermoelectric cooling plate can provide continuous cooling as long as battery lasts. It is a further objective of this presently claimed invention to provide a portable device to enhance performance and prevent heat stroke during exercise, industrial or military activities. It is a further objective of this presently claimed invention to include an algorithm to determine the optimal cooling temperature to avoid local blood vessels constriction. It is still a further objective of this invention to utilize multiple thermoelectric cooling plates to provide a method and system for cooling of human body to enhance performance and prevent heat stroke in extremely hot environments such as inside an armored personnel vehicle (APV) in military applications.

In accordance with the various embodiments of the presently claimed invention, the device consists of a thermoelectric cooling plate and a cooling fan for heat extraction, a controller module to control the thermoelectric cold plate temperature and to monitor the user/device interface temperature as well as pulse rate. The controller module executes algorithms to control the thermoelectric plate output temperature to avoid local blood vessels constriction and conserve battery power.

In accordance with the various embodiments of the presently claimed invention, the device can provide 25-30% performance gain when used during exercise (increase in work performed and endurance). Used during resting periods will also help the body recover faster. Results of multi-day trials indicated that the conditioning effect from the use of the device is lasting—same performance level is shown on days when the device is not used. The light-weight portable device makes it ideal for sports activities like jogging as well as for industrial or military activities under thermally stressful environments. Heavy-duty version of device is equipped with multiple and more powerful thermoelectric cooling plates for more demanding environments such as inside a tank or armored personnel vehicle (APV) in military applications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention are described in more detail hereinafter with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates the side view of the portable body cooling device in accordance with an embodiment of the presently claimed invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates the top view of the portable body cooling device in accordance with an embodiment of the presently claimed invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates the bottom view of the portable body cooling device in accordance with an embodiment of the presently claimed invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates the interior view of the portable body cooling device in accordance with an embodiment of the presently claimed invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates the top and bottom views of the heavy duty body cooling device in accordance with an embodiment of the presently claimed invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description, method and apparatus for performance enhancing body cooling with thermoelectric are set forth as preferred examples. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications, including additions and/or substitutions may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Specific details may be omitted so as not to obscure the invention; however, herein without undue experimentation.

The preferred embodiment of the presently claimed invention applies to the cooling of human body in order to enhance performance and to prevent heat stroke and hyperthermia under thermally stressful environment. Referring to FIG. 1, the portable cooling device features a metallic cooling surface 101 on top of the device. The palm of the user is to be rested on top of the metallic cooling surface. The device has cooling fan vent 102 on the side. The plastic housing 104 covers the side, the back and the bottom of the device. Velcro straps 103 are attached to the side of the device. They are to be folded upward and to encompass the hand of the user in order to fasten the palm to the device.

Referring to FIG. 2, the presently claimed invention has a temperature sensor 201 on top and in the center of the area where the user's palm is placed. The temperature is sampled and used by the cooling control module to determine the appropriate action and output of the thermoelectric cooling plate. There is also a pulse rate monitor 202 located at the front of the device where the fingers will rest. The user's pulse rate will be monitored and used to determine the appropriate cooling action.

Referring to FIG. 3, at the bottom of the device, there is a cooling fan vent 301 for the cooling fan to expel air heated up by the hot-side of the thermoelectric plate. The charger connector 302 is located at the tail end of the device. The display 303 shows information such as the temperature, pulse rate and user inputs. The user input buttons 304 allow the user to input information such as age, weight, operation mode etc., to be used by the control module for temperature control.

Referring to FIG. 4, a diagram of the interior of the device showing a controller module 401 for user inputs and display, temperature/pulse rate sampling, cooling plate output control. The controller module has a microcontroller (MCU), which performs the temperature control with proprietary software algorithms. The diagram also shows a cooling fan 402, a rechargeable battery pack 403 and a thermoelectric cooling plate 404 underneath the cooling fan.

The embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented using general purpose or specialized computing devices, computer processors, microcontroller, or electronic circuitries including but not limited to digital signal processors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), and other programmable logic devices configured or programmed according to the teachings of the present disclosure. Computer instructions or software codes running in the general purpose or specialized computing devices, computer processors, or programmable logic devices can readily be prepared by practitioners skilled in the software or electronic art based on the teachings of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 5, the heavy duty version of the presently claimed invention consists of multiple cooling fans 501, multiple thermoelectric cooling plates 503 and a controller module 502. This version of the device is not portable and is to be mounted on industrial, military vehicle such as tanks or armored personnel vehicles, which could be exposed to extreme heat.

The foregoing description of the present invention has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to the practitioner skilled in the art.

The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with various modifications that are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims and their equivalence. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for performance enhancing body cooling with the use of thermoelectric cooling plate for performance enhancement and prevention of heat stress, heat stroke, and hyperthermia, comprising: a housing; and a metallic cooling surface being on a first side of the housing and being placed in contact with a user's body; wherein the metallic cooling surface comprises a thermal electric cooling plate.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a cooling fan inside the housing; and a cooling fan vent on a second side of the housing;
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: Velcro straps being attached to the housing and being used to secure the apparatus to the user's body.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a temperature sensor for measuring temperature of the user's body; and a controller module for receiving data signal from the temperature sensor and sending control signal for controlling the cooling fan according to the temperature of the user's body.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising: a pulse rate monitor for monitoring heart pulse of the user's body; wherein the controller module controls cooling fan according to the temperature and the heart pulse of the user's body.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising: a display for displaying the temperature and the heart pulse of the user's body.
 7. An apparatus for performance enhancing body cooling under extreme heat conditions with the use of thermoelectric cooling plate for performance enhancement and prevention of heat stress, heat stroke, and hyperthermia, comprising: a housing; and a metallic cooling surface being on a first side of the housing and being placed in contact with a body of heat; wherein the metallic cooling surface comprises a plurality of thermal electric cooling plates.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising: one or more cooling fan inside the housing; and one or more cooling fan vents on one or more sides of the housing;
 9. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising: a temperature sensor for measuring temperature of the body of heat; and a controller module for receiving data signal from the temperature sensor and sending control signal for controlling the cooling fans according to the temperature of the user's body.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising: a display for displaying the temperature of the body of heat. 